Changes
by Tashya9206
Summary: First person view.
1. Chapter 1

_Fuck._

I was kneeling on all fours, a group of men standing above me with smirks that only wicked people could wear. After a moment, one of them stooped down to my level. I could feel his beady eyes focused on me, mocking me. I knew what he wanted, but I wasn't going to give it to him, no matter what he and his thugs did to me.

A hand clamped down on my jaw, turning my head up so my eyes were forced to look at his ugly visage, back dropped by the blaring winter sun. Oh yeah…I'd forgotten. I was kneeling in six inch deep snow. I guess my hands had gotten used to the low temperatures. I didn't dare lift them to see if they were frostbitten; that would just get me another numbing smack to the cheek, and my face was swollen enough.

"All we want is the girl," he said in his thick Orlesian accent. _No shit,_ I thought. It's what they'd been asking for all morning. Or was it the afternoon now? Did it really matter? Torture was torture, no matter the time of day. Still…it would've been nice to know.

I forced myself to look at him, examining his features. One eye always remained shut; whether it was injured or he was doing it to make himself look awful was unknown. The other one was wide open and a little glazed, as if he were slowly becoming blind, though he didn't look older than thirty or forty. His dark blonde hair was shaggy and badly tended; I could literally see the insects that were burrowed in his scalp crawling around in desperation, as if even they couldn't stand the odor that emanated from him. That was another thing: he always smelled like sewer water and rotten garbage. I guess it was supposed to intimidate me.

Another punch as I remained silent. More swelling as blood rushed to my face. More bickering and yelling amongst the group while the one gripping my face kept repeating, "Quiet down, you idiots! Do you want to be discovered?" I wasn't sure which was worse: being repeatedly beaten by his smelly, calloused hands or listening to their uncoordinated ideas for what would happen next. Someone suggested just tossing me into the nearby river. Another said that was just stupid, and I silently agreed; not because I didn't want to be thrown in (which was partially the reason, I admit), but because I would probably be found quicker that way. What idiots.

"Our orders were to keep at it until she snaps," the leader said with obvious frustration. "Do you want to lose money?"

"You'll lose it anyway," I stated weakly, causing them all to look at me. "I'll never tell."

"That is for us to know and you to find out."

More smacks and questions. By the Maker, I thought his hand would break just from the force of his flesh hitting mine. Sadly, it didn't. Even more arguing. Didn't they ever get tired? The sun was slowly starting to fall towards the western horizon. Perhaps it was later than I imagined. The others took notice, and started grumbling about dinner. At first, I was crazy enough to believe that I was the main course, but that wasn't the case. Instead, they pulled rope out of their pack and proceeded to tie me to a tree. "We'll be back for you tomorrow, precious," the blonde grinned, exposing his rotten gums and missing teeth. "Don't even try to escape…we'll find you again and give you hell."

_Right…like there's any chance of me getting out of these painfully tight knots._ After that, they wandered off, once again fighting amongst themselves. It made me chuckle, which in turn made me cough violently. Something rose up in my throat and I was forced to spit it out. It was red and thick. _Blood? Shit, they hit me too hard. There's no way I'll survive the night._ I bowed my head and tried to sleep.

With any luck, I wouldn't wake up the next morning.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Mommy…"_

My eyes opened with a start as the whisper vibrated within my ears. It was a moonlit night, so the little clearing in the Brecilian Forest was bathed in a shimmering silver light. It was also snowing; it made everything look so peaceful. "How ironic," I managed to whisper out, though I knew I was speaking only to myself. As I felt the ice dust my face, I flinched; that bastard hit me so hard that a mere snowflake was painful to me. I sighed and watched my breath drift away and vanish, feeling that my hopes were doing the same.

_Mommy._

There it was again! At first, I'd thought it was the breeze in the trees, hitting the leaves a certain way to make those sounds. But this time, it seemed closer, more like a whisper than a trick of the wind. Besides…the air was still, the flakes were falling straight, and other than the whisper, there wasn't a sound. I tried turning my head towards the source, but the bark of the tree behind me grazed against my swollen cheek, forcing me to return to my original position and wince.

Then I heard something else: _crunch crunch crunch, _as if someone were walking through the snow at a slow pace. I tensed up and forced myself to look in the right direction, no matter how badly it hurt. It only sounded like one person; perhaps the blonde-haired man had come back to finish the job, or to interrogate me some more. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the worse.

That's when the pain hit. Right in the gut, like someone had stabbed me with a long, sharp knife. If I hadn't been tied up, I would've doubled over into the snow. Instead, I let out a loud groan, making the footfalls speed up. "Maker," I whispered harshly, my eyes clenched shut, "just end it already!"

When I opened my eyes again, my vision was blurred. The trees seemed so far away, and in front of them was a slender figure. He or she (I couldn't tell) was carrying a smaller person, and they were facing my direction. Apparently, my hearing was distorted as well; one of them said something, and the short figure was put down and started running towards me. Just before she reached me, I blacked out.


End file.
